Feats of Clay - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Rafael Nadal. Roger Federer ended the Spanish lefty's 81-match clay winning streak in the Hamburg Final 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 just before the 2007 French Open. Nadal had won 13 consecutive clay tournaments since losing to Igor Andreev in the 2005 Valencia quarterfinals.
• A2) Guillermo Vilas. The Argentinian captured 53 straight dirt matches from May to September 1977 and was in Paris to witness Nadal's historic 54th consecutive win at the 2006 French Open. Bjorn Borg won 46 straight from 1977 to 1979, and Thomas Muster 40 in 1995 and 38 from 1995 to 1996.
• A3) Chris Evert. The American legend didn't lose on clay for almost six years, winning 125 consecutive matches and 24 tournaments from August 1973 until May 1979. Tracy Austin finally upset her 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 in the semifinals of the Italian Open.
• A4) Roger Federer. The number one player in the world has won 53 straight on natural turf since a first-round loss to Mario Ancic at Wimbledon in 2002. Bjorn Borg took 41 straight from 1976 to 1981, all at Wimbledon.
• A5) Martina Navratilova. The Czech-born American won 47 straight grass matches from Eastbourne in 1983 to the Australian Open in 1984.
• A6) Roger Federer. The Swiss ran off 56 straight hard court victories from 2005 to 2006, losing to Rafael Nadal in the Dubai Final in March. Pete Sampras is a distant second at 34 straight, and Ivan Lendl third with 31.
• A7) Ivan Lendl. The Czech, who immigrated to the U.S. a few years later, won 66 straight indoor matches from 1981 to 1983, losing to John McEnroe in the Philadelphia final.
• A8) John McEnroe. The lefty crafted a 75-match winning streak on carpet from September 1983 to April 1985.
• A9) Guillermo Vilas. The southpaw's 1977 run included 46 straight wins (and four more in Davis Cup competition). Ivan Lendl won 44 straight from 1981 to 1982, John McEnroe 42 in 1984, Roger Federer 41 from 2006 to 2007, and Bjorn Borg 38 from 1979 to 1980 and 35 in 1978.
• A10) Martina Navratilova. The Czechoslovakian-American won an amazing 74 straight matches in 1984, bookended by a January loss to Hana Mandlikova in the Virginia Slims of California final and a December loss to Helena Sukova in the Australian Open semifinals. Navratilova also had streaks of 58 from 1986 to 1987 and 54 from 1983 to 1984. Steffi Graf won 66 straight from 1989 to 1990, Margaret Court 57 from 1972 to 1973, and Chris Evert 55 in 1974.
• A11) Bjorn Borg. The Ice Man won 28 straight matches from 1978 to 1981 but retired before the 1982 tournament.
• A12) Chris Evert. The Ice Maiden won 29 straight matches from 1974 to 1981, losing in the semifinals to Hana Mandlikova. She captured the tournament in 1974, 1975, 1979, and 1980 but skipped the event from 1976 to 1978.